8396. Tabor

Lexical Summary

Tabor: Tabor

Original Word: תָּבוֹר
Part of Speech: noun feminine; proper name; mountain; location; location
Transliteration: Tabowr
Pronunciation: tah-BOHR
Phonetic Spelling: (taw-bore')
KJV: Tabor
NASB: Tabor
Word Origin: [from a root corresponding to H840 (אֲשַׂראֵל - Asarel)6]

1. broken region
2. Tabor, a mountain in Israel, also a city adjacent

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

destruction

From a root corresponding to tbar; broken region; Tabor, a mountain in Palestine, also a city adjacent -- Tabor.

see HEBREW tbar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a mountain S.W. of the Sea of Galilee, also several other places in Isr.
NASB Translation
Tabor (10).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

תַּאֲנִיָּה noun feminine id. id.

תָּבוֺר proper name

1. mountain northeast edge of Great Plain, southwest of Sea of Galilee, on border of Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali, modern Jebel e‰-ˆûr; compare Rel^{Pal. 331 ff.} Burckhardt^{Travels, 332 ff.} Rob^{BR iii. 340 f.} Bäd^{Pal. Index, under the word} Buhl^{Geogr. 108} GACooke^{Ency. Bib., under the word}; — ׳הַר(ֿ)ת Judges 4:6,12,14; ׳ת alone Hosea 5:1; Jeremiah 46:18; Joshua 19:22,34 (P), Psalm 89:13 (+ חֶרְמוֺן); ᵐ5 Θαβωρ (so Euseb^Onom.), but Hosea, Jeremiah Ιταβυριον, and so Jos^{Ant. see 1, 22 [84]. BJ iv. 1}. 8 [54]. etc. (other Greek forms see Cooke^l.c.).

2. location Judges 8:18 (too far away to be =

1 Be and others), GFM conjecture טַבּוּר (Judges 9:37), Bu תֵּבֵץ (Judges 9:50); ᵐ5 Θαβωρ.

3. location Levitical city in Zebulun 1 Chronicles 6:62; apparently = ׳כְּסֻלֹּת ת Joshua 19:12, and perhaps ׳ת Joshua 19:22 (in Issachar), ᵐ5 Θαχχεια, A ᵐ5^L Θαβωρ.

4. arbor. in ׳אֵלוֺן ת 1 Samuel 10:3, near Bethel; ᵐ5 Θαβωρ.

תֵּבֵל see יבל. תֶּ֫בֶל see בלל. תֻּבַל see תּוּבַל. p. 117, 385, 1063

תַּבְלִית see [בלה]. תְּבַלֻּל see בלל.

Topical Lexicon

Geographical Profile

Tabor is the name of a prominent, rounded hill that rises abruptly from the Jezreel Valley in Lower Galilee, standing about 562 m above sea level and more than 400 m above the surrounding plain. By its location it marked the ancient boundary line where the tribal allotments of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali converged (compare Joshua 19:22). Because no higher ridge adjoins it, Scripture can speak of it as a mountain set “among the mountains” (Jeremiah 46:18) and as a singular landmark with far-reaching visibility. Dense oak forests once covered its slopes (cf. 1 Samuel 10:3), and even today the crest commands expansive views toward Mount Carmel to the west and Hermon to the north.

Biblical Occurrences and Themes

1. Military staging ground (Judges 4). Deborah summoned Barak to gather ten thousand troops on Mount Tabor and launch the decisive assault that broke Canaanite domination. Three times in that chapter the mount is named (Judges 4:6, 12, 14), underscoring its strategic value: an elevated, defensible rally point near the Kishon River, yet close enough for a rapid descent upon Sisera’s chariots once the LORD sent the torrent that disabled them.
2. Place of martyrdom (Judges 8:18). Gideon reminds the Midianite kings that they murdered Israelites “at Tabor,” revealing that the mountain was not only a fortress for Israel but also a field of suffering. The phrase “each one resembling the son of a king” hints that the men slain there were noble in bearing—making their unjust death an offense God would avenge through Gideon’s hand.
3. Reference in Saul’s anointing (1 Samuel 10:3). After leaving Rachel’s tomb, the newly anointed Saul would meet three worshipers “at the Oak of Tabor.” The site lies on the mount’s lower slope or in the nearby plain, functioning as a providential signpost confirming God’s call.
4. Levitical city (1 Chronicles 6:77). Within the tribal inheritance of Zebulun a town called Tabor was set apart for the Merarite Levites. The same ridge that once hosted armies became a place where priestly families lived and taught God’s law.
5. Poetic and prophetic imagery (Psalm 89:12; Jeremiah 46:18; Hosea 5:1).
• Psalm 89 joins Tabor with Hermon as witnesses to the Creator’s glory: “Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.” The pairing —one mountain in the north, one in the south— portrays all geography rejoicing in covenant faithfulness.
• Jeremiah employs Tabor’s loftiness to picture the certain arrival of judgment: the conqueror will stand out “like Tabor among the mountains.”
• Hosea indicts wayward leaders for turning a holy height into a snare: “a net spread on Tabor,” exposing how corrupt worship can misuse even God-given high places.

Historical and Redemptive Significance

Tabor appears at pivotal moments when God raises deliverers (Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Saul). Each episode reinforces the truth that victory belongs to the LORD, not to human elevation or numbers. The hill’s isolation magnifies this lesson: surrounded by hostile plains, Israel stood secure only when the LORD fought for her. Conversely, Hosea’s warning shows that sacred geography grants no immunity if the people reject covenant fidelity.

Symbolic Use in Worship and Prophecy

In Hebrew poetry Tabor functions as shorthand for stability, grandeur, and rejoicing. As Psalm 89 entwines it with Hermon, the mountain becomes a natural choir declaring divine kingship that spans north and south. Jeremiah harnesses the same topographical prominence to announce Nebuchadnezzar’s inexorable advance, reminding the remnant that God’s sovereignty extends equally to salvation and judgment.

Ministry Lessons and Applications

• Dependence on God’s initiative: Barak only moved when assured, “Has not the LORD gone before you?” (Judges 4:14). Ministry today remains fruitful when grounded in God’s prior action rather than human strategy.
• Faith amid obscurity: an unassuming hill, not the lofty ranges of Lebanon, became the launchpad for deliverance. God often chooses unexpected venues and people to display His power.
• Fidelity in privilege: places once honored (Tabor in Hosea 5:1) can become snares when leaders abandon truth. Spiritual height demands ongoing obedience.

Later Tradition and Present Setting

Early Christian writers, by the third century, identified Mount Tabor as the site of the Transfiguration, and Byzantine pilgrims built commemorative churches on its summit. Although the New Testament does not name the mountain, the association reflects Tabor’s enduring link with revelation and glory. Today the mount remains a landmark for believers who ascend its winding road, read the accounts of Deborah or the Psalms of praise, and see in its isolation a visual sermon on the God who exalts the lowly and humbles the proud.

Summary

Tabor’s ten Old Testament references trace a theological arc: from tribal boundary to battlefield, from place of massacre to seat of Levitical instruction, from symbol of jubilant creation to warning of impending judgment. Across every genre—narrative, legal allocation, poetry, prophecy—the mountain witnesses to the steadfast character of the LORD, whose purposes stand firm whether He is granting victory, indicting sin, or eliciting praise “among the mountains.”

Forms and Transliterations

בְּתָב֑וֹר בְּתָב֤וֹר בתבור כְּתָב֣וֹר כתבור תָּב֔וֹר תָּב֖וֹר תָּב֥וֹר תָּבֽוֹר׃ תבור תבור׃ bə·ṯā·ḇō·wr bəṯāḇōwr betaVor kə·ṯā·ḇō·wr kəṯāḇōwr ketaVor tā·ḇō·wr tāḇōwr taVor

Englishman's Concordance

Joshua 19:22
HEB: וּפָגַע֩ הַגְּב֨וּל בְּתָב֤וֹר [וְשַׁחֲצוּמָה כ]
NAS: reached to Tabor and Shahazumah
KJV: reacheth to Tabor, and Shahazimah,
INT: reached the border to Tabor Shahazimah and Beth-shemesh

Judges 4:6
HEB: וּמָֽשַׁכְתָּ֙ בְּהַ֣ר תָּב֔וֹר וְלָקַחְתָּ֣ עִמְּךָ֗
NAS: to Mount Tabor, and take
KJV: toward mount Tabor, and take
INT: and march to Mount Tabor and take you

Judges 4:12
HEB: אֲבִינֹ֖עַם הַר־ תָּבֽוֹר׃ ס
NAS: had gone up to Mount Tabor.
KJV: was gone up to mount Tabor.
INT: of Abinoam to Mount Tabor

Judges 4:14
HEB: בָּרָק֙ מֵהַ֣ר תָּב֔וֹר וַעֲשֶׂ֧רֶת אֲלָפִ֛ים
NAS: from Mount Tabor with ten
KJV: from mount Tabor, and ten
INT: Barak Mount Tabor ten thousand

Judges 8:18
HEB: אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲרַגְתֶּ֖ם בְּתָב֑וֹר וַֽיֹּאמְרוּ֙ כָּמ֣וֹךָ
NAS: you killed at Tabor? And they said,
KJV: [were they] whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered,
INT: whom killed destruction said were like

1 Samuel 10:3
HEB: עַד־ אֵל֣וֹן תָּב֔וֹר וּמְצָא֤וּךָ שָּׁם֙
NAS: as the oak of Tabor, and there
KJV: to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet
INT: far as the oak of Tabor will meet and there

1 Chronicles 6:77
HEB: מִגְרָשֶׁ֑יהָ אֶת־ תָּב֖וֹר וְאֶת־ מִגְרָשֶֽׁיהָ׃
NAS: lands, Tabor with its pasture lands;
KJV: with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:
INT: Rimmono pasture Tabor lands

Psalm 89:12
HEB: אַתָּ֣ה בְרָאתָ֑ם תָּב֥וֹר וְ֝חֶרְמ֗וֹן בְּשִׁמְךָ֥
NAS: You have created them; Tabor and Hermon
KJV: thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon
INT: You have created Tabor and Hermon your name

Jeremiah 46:18
HEB: שְׁמ֑וֹ כִּ֚י כְּתָב֣וֹר בֶּֽהָרִ֔ים וּכְכַרְמֶ֖ל
NAS: one shall come [who looms up] like Tabor among the mountains,
KJV: of hosts, Surely as Tabor [is] among the mountains,
INT: name Surely Tabor the mountains Carmel

Hosea 5:1
HEB: פְּרוּשָׂ֥ה עַל־ תָּבֽוֹר׃
NAS: And a net spread out on Tabor.
KJV: and a net spread upon Tabor.
INT: spread on Tabor

10 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8396
10 Occurrences

bə·ṯā·ḇō·wr — 2 Occ.
kə·ṯā·ḇō·wr — 1 Occ.
tā·ḇō·wr — 7 Occ.